Stev is the name for a sort of Norwegian epic-lyric folk song. Generally one stev stanza consists of four lines of verse. There are two forms - the gammelstev (= old stev) which goes back to dance tunes of Medieval times and often has an epic or narrative character and the nystev (=new stev), which, as the name indicates, is much younger and of a more personal, emotional character, it also can be used for love poetry. Also the rhyming is different, in the gammelstev the second and third lines rhyme, in the nystev the lines rhyme in pairs.

Here is an example for a nystev:

Å med soli kan eg meg sammenlikne,
for hågt ho stiger, men ned ho siger.
Å eg kleiv og klavra ti' hågt e va'
men so seig eg ned som eit soleglad.

Eg tykkjer fjølli meg innestengjer
og myrke skuggar imot meg vender.
og meg livet møter med gråt og sut
liksom myrke skuggar seg breier ut.

Eg lengtar, lengtar, eg gjeng og drøymer,
når lauvet spretter og fossen fløymer;
Og ko felar hugjen eg inkje veit,
men han er som logande elden heit.



Translation please?

With the sun I could compare myself,
for high she rises, she sinks down again
Oh I climbed and clambered until I was high
but I sank down like the setting sun.

I thought the mountains would close in around me
and dark shadows move toward me
and life meets me with tears and sorrow
as if dark shadows would spread out.

I yearn, I yearn, I walk and dream,
when the leaves sprout and the waterfall rushes
And I don't know what ails my mind,
but it burns as if on fire.